CSO Call for Expression of Interest for the WoS ECW-funded programme

The Whole of Syria (WoS) is seeking proposals for its program entitled “Strengthening the education system inside Syria towards sustainable delivery of equitable, quality and protective education services for all children”, which has been approved for funding from Education Cannot Wait (ECW), a first global fund to prioritize education in humanitarian action. The WoS has been selected among the first recipients to be awarded and UNICEF was appointed as grantee. The actual programme management and decision making over grant funds and programme direction will be jointly undertaken by the WoS Education Coordinators (UNICEF and Save the Children International). Funds will be administered from UNICEF to partners using UNICEF's financial systems, and applicable rules and regulations, including those relating to procurement as well as the selection and assessment of Implementing Partners.

Proposals should demonstrate the Civil Society Organisations (CSOs’) capacity and the program’s plan to contribute to all the activities of the overall proposal. Detailed reporting on project activities, including disaggregation by school level, gender and age will be required, in line with UNICEF rules and regulations. Proposals must be for a total of 18 months and demonstrate efficiency and effectiveness. Proposals must be broken into two phases with the following timeframes:

October 2017- March 2018 (with budget proposed and capped at USD 350,000)

April 2018- March 2019 (with budget proposed and capped at USD 650,000)

The proposed ECW Programme aims to achieve three outcomes:

OUTCOME 1: Strengthened capacity of the education system to deliver a timely, coordinated and evidence-based education response

OUTCOME 3: Improved quality and relevance of formal and non-formal education within a protective environment

The purpose of the Call for Expression of Interest is to identify eligible CSOs or a consortium of them for prospective partnership at the WoS level with UNICEF. Eligible CSOs are invited to submit proposals for partnership to support achievement of results for children outlined in the 2017 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for Syria and section 1.3 below.

CSOs that wish to participate in this Call for Expression of Interest are requested to send their submission clearly marked “CSO Call for Expression of Interest for the WoS ECW-funded programme: “Strengthening the education system inside Syria towards sustainable delivery of equitable, quality and protective education services for all children” at one of the following e-mail addresses, depending on the hub they are member of:

Applications will be assessed by an evaluation committee at the Hub level to identify 1) submissions that meet the eligibility criteria 2) CSOs that have the mandate, capacities and comparative advantage to support achievement of results for children using criteria outlined in section 3 below. Eligible submissions will be reviewed in two stages: first they will be reviewed by the respective hub they submitted their proposal to, then they will be reviewed at the WOS level. Consortia of NGOs are strongly encouraged to apply.1

It should be noted that participation to this Call for Expression of Interest does not guarantee the CSO will be ultimately selected for partnership with UNICEF and does not obligate UNICEF in any way to any CSO. Selected CSOs will be invited to review and finalise partnership agreements in accordance with criteria outlined in section 3.4 below and applicable UNICEF policy and procedures on partnership with CSOs.

Applicant CSOs will be informed of the outcome of their submissions by communication sent out to the email address that is indicated in the CSO submission by end of September 2017.

Click here for more information and for the structure of the proposal.